With profound thanks.
TomO’Neill•1945-2020
ScotiabankBoardofDirectors2008-2019•Chairman2014-2019
“Tom’slegacyextendsbeyondhisownfamily,andourBank.It’sgreaterthanhisintegrity,
generosity and tremendous business acumen.
Tom’s legacy is every person he mentored, coached, and encouraged. Tom wasafatherigure
to many of us at the Bank. He will be sorely missed by those who were fortunateto know him.
He was a remarkable man.”
–BrianPorter,ScotiabankPresident&CEO
WEDNESDAY,APRIL8,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O REPORTONBUSINESS| ß
Canadian airline customers whose travel
plans are upended by the COVID-19 pan-
demic and travel restrictions can get cred-
its from the carriers, but have no right to a
refund, according to changes made by the
federalgovernment.
Canada’s move to waive airlines’ respon-
sibilities to give customers their money
back sets it apart from Europe and the Unit-
ed States, where airlines have been ordered
by regulators to provide refunds to people
whose flights were cancelled due to the
pandemic.
In an online post on March 25, the Cana-
dian Transportation Agency (CTA), the air-
line industry regulator, said existing rules
that had required airlines to provide re-
funds in some cases were written to ad-
dress “localized and short-term disrup-
tions,” and do not apply in the COVID-19
outbreak, which has closed borders and
halted almost all international aviation.
“It’s important to consider how to strike
a fair and sensible balance between pas-
senger protection and airlines’ operational
realities in these extraordinary and un-
precedented circumstances,” the CTA said.
That’s no help to Max Bolton, a U.K. citi-
zen whose WestJet Airlines flight to Lon-
don from Calgary was cancelled when the
airline suspended most international
routes. He had booked the flight home af-
ter losing his ski instructor job at a B.C. ski
hill, which closed because of the pandemic.
Mr. Bolton said he called WestJet and ex-
plained he was almost broke and desperate
to get home to his family in Leeds before
much of the world went into lockdown. He
needed the refund in order to buy an Air
Canada seat.
WestJet offered him a credit for the can-
celled fare, he said, but told him flights to
London would not resume until late May or
after. “By that time I would have been out
of money, and probably not eaten for two
weeks,” Mr. Bolton said.
Instead, he sold his car and scraped to-
gether enough money for an Air Canada
ticket. “I’ve only just managed to get myself
home,” he said.
Even before the government made the
change that allows airlines to refuse to give
customers their money back, cancellation
fees often almost equaled the refund.
Air Canada passenger Elayne Lester, ea-
ger to return to Toronto as the outbreak
spread in early March, cancelled a flight
from San Francisco and booked an earlier
trip. After “non-refundable fees” worth
US$477, her refund was US$13.
The world’s airlines are conserving cash
and cannot refund cancelled tickets if they
hope to survive, said the chief executive of
the International Air Transport Associ-
ation (IATA), a global aviation group. “The
key element for us is to avoid running out
of cash so refunding the cancelled ticket for
us is almost unbearable, financially speak-
ing,” IATA’s Alexandre De Juniac told re-
porters on Tuesday.
The seven Canadian airlines contacted
by The Globe and Mail for this story sepa-
rately said the flights were cancelled be-
cause ofgovernment restrictions on travel,
and said they welcomed thegovernment
decision to allow them to offer credits that
are valid for up to 24 months.
“This positive response allows airlines
operating in Canada to focus our efforts on
managing our business through this crisis
so that we can hasten our return to service
and fulfill the travel obligations we have forthe more than 25 million guests who fly
with us each year,” said Lauren Stewart, a
spokeswoman for WestJet.
The CEO of Flair Airlines says about half
of the passengers who paid for tickets are
not showing up, and expectations of re-
funds place impossible demands on busi-
nesses trying to stay alive. “People just
don’t bother showing up, and then they’ll
say you owe us the money,” Jim Scott said
by phone from Vancouver.
“Every flight is a losing flight. There is no
money being in the airline industry right
now,” Mr. Scott said.
The European Union has told airlines to
provide refunds, although enforcement of
the order is up to member states. Last Fri-
day, the U.S. Department of Transportation
told airlines they must refund customers’
money.
IATA said it is “deeply disappointed” by
the U.S. order, warning it puts 750,000 avia-
tion jobs at risk. The industry group says
government-imposed flight restrictions
could cause airline revenues to plunge by
US$252-billion this year, and many carriers
will fail. The group is calling ongovern-
ments to bail out the industry with cash,
loans and tax breaks.
In Canada, Finance Minister Bill Mor-
neau is expected in the coming days to an-
nounce bailout measures for the airline
sector, which has laid off thousands of peo-
ple in recent weeks.Passengersseekingrefundsfor
cancelledflightswillbeoutofluck
Customersleftscrambling
asOttawawavesairlines’
dutytogivemoneyback
ERICATKINS
TRANSPORTATIONREPORTER
AwomanwheelsluggagethroughTorontoPearsonInternationalAirportonApril1.Airlines
suchasAirCanadawillnotbereÄuiredtorefundpassengerswhoseflightswerecancelled,
butwillinsteadgivethemcredit.COLEBURSTON/GETTYIMAGESHome sales in Montreal dropped
in the second half of March, as
the Quebec government sus-
pended work in non-essential
sectors, including in real estate,
to stop the spread of COVID-19.
In the first part of March,
3,079 homes sold in the Mon-
treal area, compared with 2,828
in the latter half of the month,
according to the Quebec Profes-
sional Association of Real Estate
Brokers.
The activity mirrors the two
most expensive real estate mar-
kets in the country, Toronto and
Vancouver, where sales fell nota-
bly in the last two weeks of
March.
As sales dropped in Montreal,
so did home prices. The average
selling price across all types of
homes was $402,414 in the sec-
ond half of the month, com-
pared with $412,126 in the first
half.
Unlike Ontario and British Co-
lumbia, Quebec considers work
in the real estate industry to be
non-essential.
Over all, 5,907 homes sold in
March in Montreal despite the
industry showdown. That was a
4 per cent increase over March,
2019, along with the 61st straight
month of sales increases.
The association said the rela-
tively high level of sales was ow-
ing to activity that occurred ear-
lier in the year.
As home prices decline, the
association predicted greater
“price stability over the medium
term as we emerge from the cri-
sis.”
Montreal’s real estate market
has been booming over the past
few years, with investors pouring
money into new condo develop-
ments.Montreal
homesales
fallduring
lateMarch
lockdown
RACHELLEYO4NLAI